Thursday, March 10, 2011

As part of their ongoing fund-raising efforts, the Parents Television Council has moved on from MTV's "Skins" to a fresh target and this time around it's an ABC pilot which hasn't even been filmed let alone picked up to series or scheduled to air.

The pilot, which the Disney-owned ABC TV network may pick up to series later this spring, is based upon a deliciously campy novel by author and Dallas native Kim Gatlin about a gang of evil backstabbing self-righteous socialite women.

The show is described as a nightime soap dramedy - the genre ABC has had great success with in recent years - and comes from the "Melrose Place" and "Sex and the City" creator and producer Darren Star.

The project landed at ABC after a bidding war and the pilot script was written by Robert Harling whose previous credits include "Steel Magnolias" and "First Wives Club."

Star's last cooperation with ABC, the Lucy Liu fronted dramedy "Cashmere Mafia" failed to gain a significant following in the winter of 2008 (during the writer's strike) and was canceled after only 7 episodes.

Leslie Bibb (pictured at the top of the post), Annie Potts, Jennifer Aspen and Miriam Shor have so far been cast in the pilot.

Whether or not the pilot makes it to series and gets an airdate on ABC next TV season, the PTC has certainly helped raise the awareness of the project in a see of pilots being developed this spring by the five free-to-air broadcast networks in the US.

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Next Sunday "Desperate Housewives" will be back with at least 4 consecutive March sweeps episodes, followed by 5 more (including a 2-hour finale) in late April and May. So what's in store for TV's hottest housewives this spring?

SUSAN (Teri Hatcher)

Susan will try to impress Jessie (played by guest star Swoosie Kurtz) who is supposed to evaluate her job performance. Jessie, who is a lesbian, will think Susan is interested in her. In the same episode (March 15), Susan kisses Gabrielle. Later, Susan is disturbed by a violent picture drawn by a kid at her school. Look for Richard Burgi to return as Susan's ex-husband Karl.

LYNETTE (Felicity Huffman)

Lynette and Tom will be forced to sell their restaurant and look for new jobs. Bree will try to help Tom get a job, but Lynette may want the job for herself. Later, she will feel threatened by her new boss.

BREE (Marcia Cross)

Bree discovers Orson secret - he is a kleptomaniac. Embarrassed, she goes to great lengths to protect her own reputation. Orson will ask Bree to sell her catering business. Later, there will be more trouble for Orson as he continues to steal and gets caught.

GABY (Eva Longoria)

As Carlos' boss continues his affair, Gaby will visit his mistress and try to get her to end the relationship. Later, Carlos gets a promotion and joins his ex-roommate from college Lucy, making Gaby jealous.

EDIE (Nicolette Sheridan)

A priest recognizes Edie's husband as Dave Dash, making her even more suspicious. She continues to dig into his past. By the March 22 episode, Edie may learn everything she needs to know about Dave, but it will be too late. Edie's worst fears will come to life. In late April, the housewives will visit Travers, Edie's son to tell him what happened to his mommy.

Following the November slaughter of its sophomore dramas "Pushing Daisies," "Dirty Sexy Money" and "Eli Stone," the Alphabet net has pulled the plug on its freshman series "Life on Mars," too. The final, 17th episode will air April 1.

The US version of the same-titled UK time-traveling cop drama launched last fall in the troubled post-Grey's Anatomy slot on Thursday nights at 10pm, premiering to a decent audience of 11.33 million viewers with a solid 3.7 rating among adults 18-49.

Following the initial sampling, the show lost 3 million viewers, but remained stable at 8 million viewers (and a 2.6 demo rating).

Then the network decided to cancel the above-mentioned dramas and try to save Shonda Rhimes' medical series "Private Practice," by moving it next to its parent series "Grey's Anatomy."

For this reason, "Life on Mars" was moved to Wednesday nights at 10pm, replacing "Dirty Sexy Money" and leading out of a new season of "Lost."

But the network decided to wait for the return of "Lost," thus putting "Life on Mars" on a 2-month hiatus. When the show returned in late January 2009, it immediately lost an additional 2 million viewers.

A recent episode of the show bottomed out at 4.63 million viewers, pulling in a very weak 1.6 rating among adults 18-49.

That means "Life on Mars" did worse leading out of "Lost" than "Dirty Sexy Money" did leading out of "Private Practice" last fall.

For this reason, the show will end on April 1. A week later, ABC will premiere in its place new midseason drama "The Unusuals" about a female NYPD homicide division detective played by Amber Tamblyn ("The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants").

The producers of "Life on Mars" were allegedly given sufficient time to give its show a proper series finale.

Former "Desperate Housewives" hunk Jesse Metcalfe (and his eyebrows), who appeared in every season of the ABC dramedy, apart from the current one, made an appearance at the premiere of "Watchman" in Hollywood on Sunday night.

After his Wisteria Lane gardener character was reduced to a recurring status, the actor appears to have found work in straight to DVD horror genre.

Last November Metcalfe was in the entertainment news again after being hospitalized following a nasty tumble 40 feet from a balcony at an afterparty for the World Music Awards in Monaco.

Sunday, March 01, 2009

Something awful will happen on tonight's special 2-hour episode of ABC's "Brothers & Sisters". Which member of the Walker clan will die as the March sweeps begin on the ABC Sunday night drama?

Executive producers Alison Schapker & Monica Owusu-Breen said to Futon Critic, the episode which opens with Sally Field marching dramatically through a hospital corridor, the show will explore a health crisis for one of the characters and all ramifications that will have when they suddenly face their vulnerability.

Although Balthazar Getty is known to be taking time away from the show (supposedly unrelated to his turbulent personal life), the producers insist he will be back to resume his place in the family.

According to a press release, in tonight's episode Walker family experiences the thrill of a new life born and the desperation and terror of loss when one of their own has a life-threatening crisis.

Meanwhile, Rebecca turns to her father (guest starring Ken Olin) for help when she discovers some information that could destroy the family business and send one of the Walkers to prison.

When "Desperate Housewives" return from a small hiatus next Sunday, Bree will discover Orson's shocking secret. What is it? Find out after the jump.

In a gesture of friendship, Bree tells Lynette she'll help Tom secure a new job, but the best intentions will reach a tempestuous end and reveal Orson's shameful misdeeds. In other words, Lynette may be interested in Tom's job herself and Orson may be revealed as kleptomaniac.

Gaby finds herself in a precarious position when Carlos' adulterous boss begins using her to cover for himself as he continues to cheat on his wife.

Finally, Edie digs into Dave's past after a chance encounter with an old acquaintance. Since Nicolette Sheridan's departure from Wisteria Lane has been confirmed, it appears Edie's curiosity may end up costing her too much.Then again, after two false alarms (Edie's supposed suicide in 2007 and her being ousted from Fairview in 2008) who can take any news of Edie's demise seriously?

A character who has previously appeared on the show is however rumored to die in this episode. It all starts March 8 at 9/8c on ABC.

Former "American Dreams" star Brittany Snow has been confirmed as the young Lily in the upcoming "Gossip Girl" spinoff which premieres May 11 on the CW with a backdoor pilot, i.e. a regular episode of the "Gossip Girl" series.

The network, which is also developing a "Melrose Place" redux for next season, has just renewed teen hits "Gossip Girl" and "90210," as well as Thursday night dramas "Smallville" and "Supernatural."

It is not clear whether the "Gossip Girl" spin-off would be paired off with the parent series on Monday night or air on a separate night. The network will announce its fall plans in May.

Krysten Ritter (as Lily's older sis) and Jericho's Shilo Fernandez (as brooding valley punk) have already been cast in the spin-off which will be a period drama set in the 1980s.

Eva accepted a $200,000 check from AT&T on behalf of her charity organization. The donation to PADRES will support families coping with the devastating effects of childhood cancer.

Hatcher and Longoria recently filmed their much-touted upcoming on-screen kiss, a ploy designed to help the 5-year old soap keep its recently weakened ratings strong. The kiss will air during the sweeps.